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It started with former President Bill Clinton at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, when he said: “I love this country so much and I know we’re coming back.” That feeling of love held sway throughout the convention and the question is: Will that be enough?

In First Lady Michelle Obama’s riveting speech at the convention, she asked the nation to stand by her man, declaring, “I will, and I love him … even more than I did four years ago.” And then Vice President Joe Biden found out his wife Jill had loved him from the start, even though he had to ask her five times to marry him.

And, of course, there was nothing but affection - and emotion - in the crowded convention hall when Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was wounded in an assassination attempt, carefully and determinedly made her way across the stage to lead the pledge of allegiance. The crowd couldn’t stand it anymore. It rose in unison and many just wept.

All of that led up to the appearance by the candidate himself - President Barack Obama. In fact, in his Thursday night acceptance speech of the Democratic Party nomination, Obama was quick to point out, “I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the president.” That was a natural applause line.

Other lines were more difficult to deliver because Obama had to explain why after four years, Americans were still living with high unemployment and high deficits. The president acknowledged that while he was proud of “what we have achieved together, I am far more mindful of my own failings.” And then he asked his audience not to turn away now, not to “buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible… Only you have the power to move us forward.”

Affection will partly carry the day for the Democrats. Their convention was far more successful in creating that buzz that you want coming out of them. But, on Friday, the very next day, reality set in. The unemployment figures were disappointing, showing unemployment still up above 8 percent and labor force participation at only 63.5 percent, which is the worst level in at least 30 years.

Obama, at this point, likes to compare himself with FDR who won the presidency with unemployment above 8 percent. But back then, FDR pitched a “New Deal” of specific programs which would turn back unemployment. At this time, the American public is still waiting for more specifics from Obama on what he will do differently in his second term. He cannot just ask for a second term based on affection for him. He needs to earn that second term by being straight with the people who want to believe in him.

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